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In , the Keres were daughters of Nyx , and as such the sisters of Fate ( Moirae ), Doom ( Moros ), Death and Sleep ( Thanatos and Hypnos ), Strife ( Eris ), Old Age ( Geras ), Divine Retribution ( Nemesis ), Charon , and other Personification s. Some have also said that the Keres are the daughters of Erebus and Nyx . They were described as dark beings with gnashing teeth and claws and with a thirst for human blood. They would hover over the battlefield and search for dying and wounded men. A description of the Keres can be found in the ''Shield of Heracles'' (248-57): ''The black Dooms gnashing their white teeth, grim-eyed, fierce, bloody, terrifying fought over the men who were dying for they were all longing to drink dark blood. As soon as they caught a man who had fallen or one newly wounded, one of them clasped her great claws around him and his soul went down to Hades , to chilly Tartarus . And when they had satisfied their hearts with human blood, they would throw that one behind them and rush back again into the battle and the tumult.'' The term ''Keres'' has also been used to describe a person’s fate. An example of this can be found in the '' Illiad '' where Achilles was given the choice (or ''Keres'') between either a long and obscure life and home, or death at Troy and everlasting glory. Also, when Achilles and Hector were about to engage in a fight to the death, the god Zeus weighed both warrior's ''keres'' to determine who shall die. As Hector ’s ''ker'' was deemed heavier, he was the one destined to die. During the festival known as Anthesteria , the Keres were driven away. Their Roman equivalents were Letum (“death”) or the '''Tenebrae''' (“shadows”). REFERENCE
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